


In Time

by myheroin



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky needs a hug, First Kisses, Flashbacks, Love Confessions, M/M, Non-graphic fight scenes, Steve Needs a Hug, Time Travel, War scenes, these boys just need a damn happy ending already
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-14
Updated: 2017-02-14
Packaged: 2018-09-24 10:21:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9718232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myheroin/pseuds/myheroin
Summary: From the first moment Steve saw who he knew was Bucky, but the world knew him as The Winter Soldier, he knew failure wasn’t an option. That he’d save the boy, now man from a fate he never should’ve succumbed to in the first place. Semi-Time Travel AU.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EveryDayBella](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EveryDayBella/gifts).



> Sorry its not like super Valentine-ish, but best i could think up with prompts given. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> Thank you to everyone who was in my docs. :)

It was a face-off. 

The way the masked man with a metal arm stared down at Captain America was cold and hard. There was no sign of recognition behind his eyes. Deep down, Steve had hoped that when he saw his friend again, they’d somehow be transported back to Brooklyn before the war and everything would be okay again. That Bucky’s eyes would light up, his smile would be forever plastered to his face.

But this man, this machine, wasn’t the Bucky he once knew. He was something else entirely. Cold, removed, a robot in a man’s body.

He hated to see what had become of his friend, how Hydra had dismantled him, indoctrinated him into a systematic killing machine.

When Steve stared at the man he knew as Bucky on that bridge with his metal arm, black fatigues, and mask, he wanted to fix him, make him right again. He wondered how he could tear down the walls, the ingrained training that made up his now enemy, and turn him back into who he once knew. 

There was no recognition the longer they stared off at each other. All the Winter Soldier held was a cold look of indifference. Steve knew he was just one more person on the Soldier’s list to destroy.

The Winter Soldier raised up his weapon, coming to a stance as he prepared to pull the trigger. No thoughts registering that maybe he should hold off on pulling the trigger, that he was not after the man people called Captain America, but the longer he stood there, the more thoughts sounded off in his head. 

Kill.

Pull the trigger.

Run.

This being is nothing to you.

Run.

Run.

Run.

“You don’t want to do this. Deep down you know you can’t pull that trigger,” Steve yelled as loud as he could, over car horns honking, trucks whizzing by, people yelling.

The Winter Soldier just stood there, no emotion, no movement besides his finger now on the trigger more firmly.

“You know you know me, Bucky.  _ You  _ know me!” Steven desperately called out.

They say the sound of the gun discharging registers before the bullet does. Most say their lives flash before their eyes. For Steve, all he could feel was shock. In normal circumstances, he’d have his trusty shield raised to protect him, and then he’d pursue his assailant. But none of that registered, none of that happened. He wasn’t even sure why all his instinct flew out the window.

The loud boom from the gun infiltrated his ears, and the next moment, he was thrust down onto the ground by an impact of unimaginable force. 

He heard nothing else. Silence, total and uncomforting silence.

He tried to register his heartbeat, his breaths, to find some sort of grounding, to let himself know that he was in fact still alive.

He was given nothing.

Images, though…Images shot through his mind one after the other. First, two boys on a playground in some park that he recognized from long ago. Most likely somewhere in Brooklyn. He knew the dark-haired boy instantly; the smile gave him away.

_ His Bucky. _

* * *

 

Next, they were older, one wearing an army uniform, hat tilted to the side as they walked down the street. The other, white wife beater and tan pants, with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. They shoved each other back and forth as they laughed before stopping at a door.

Steve pulled out a lone key, his finger rubbing it, and he looked down as Bucky droned on about some woman he had met the night before.

He had no interest in whatever Bucky was saying. All he could conjure up in his mind was trying to keep Bucky stateside and not shipped off to a war he shouldn’t even have to fight.

Steve turned to his friend, his eyes going from the titled Army hat, down to Bucky’s toes. He bit his lip and shook his head, again wondering what he could do or say to make him stay. 

He placed that long metal key into the lock, twisting it half way, partially unlocking the door. 

“Buck…” Steve sighed and shook his head before looking into his friend's eyes. Blue met intense brown eyes that looked back at him. 

“Don’t leave me.” Steve hadn’t meant to sound so weak at his admission, but years of feelings demanded to make themselves known.

A wide array of emotions washed across Bucky’s face as Steve once again looked up and into his eyes.

Steve was unsure of where to go from there, so instead, he turned the key fully and listened to the lock disengage before he pushed the door open and stepped into his cold and quiet apartment.

“I think I should go,” Bucky said, his voice scratchy with some unknown emotion.

Steve shook his head, brazenly grabbed his friend's hand, pulled him inside and shut the door. “That is where I think you’re wrong. I think you should stay.”

“Steve…” Bucky let out a sigh, took off his hat and dress coat.

Steve sat down on a torn couch that was beyond repair. He patted the seat next to him, hoping Bucky would sit.

Once Bucky did, he grabbed his friend's hand again, idly playing with his fingers as he spoke. It felt intimate, needed.

“You go, Bucky, I’ll find a way to join you.” Steve was sure of it. He knew he’d follow Bucky anywhere.

“You’ve already failed getting in twice. I doubt a third time is going to be a charm.” Bucky chuckled, hoping to lighten the somber mood.

“I’ll find a way. I’m with you until the end of the line. You’re stuck with me.” Steve then laid his head on his friend's shoulder and closed his eyes. 

Steve had started to drift into sleep, when a rumbly voice broke through. “You have to know that I don’t ever want to leave you.” He felt movement, and then an arm around him, pulling him closer into Bucky. “You have to know this. You just have to.”

Words failed Steve. He felt so much and not enough in Bucky’s proclamation. So he wrapped his arms tighter around Bucky, squeezing to make sure this was real, that Bucky was there. Steve usually wasn’t one to take chances, but he figured desperate times called for desperate measures. And Bucky heading off to war was one of them.

Steve tilted his head, breathing the scent of Bucky in, just before he placed his lips on Bucky's neck. A short kiss, and then his tongue peeking out for a just a taste. One, small taste.

It felt like a goodbye, wrapped into a beginning all at the same time.

Bucky’s slight groan met Steve’s ears, which then caused a grin to turn up. He moved up to Bucky’s jaw and slightly nipped before kissing there. That soon turned into kisses toward his chin, and then finally, to Bucky’s lips. 

The kiss was slow, testing, and then probing as they finally both just allowed themselves to feel. Bucky pulled Steve onto his lap as their kisses intensified. Breaths and moans were exchanged as shirts were pulled up and thrown on the floor.

It was now Bucky’s turn to kiss, taste and breathe Steve in. He took his time, letting his tongue peek out here and there, and eventually, he came to Steve’s Adam’s apple. He sucked gently, before kissing around the other side of his neck, and up to Steve’s ear. 

Steve closed his eyes, enjoying every moment, and not at all wanting it to end. “I just don’t want to lose you,” he admitted. “War is unpredictable. So many things can go wrong. I can’t, I must not lose you.”

Bucky pulled back and grasped Steve’s face into his hands so he could look into his now, soon-to-be lover’s eyes. “I won’t allow it.”

“You can’t promise that. Just stay. Stay with me.” Steve leaned in again and kissed Bucky long and slow. Soon, his back was on the couch, his pants removed, completely naked for Bucky’s eyes to peruse.  Fingers and tongue teased, teeth nipped and bit as Bucky enjoyed all that Steve had to offer. More clothes were removed, moans heard, and finally, once they became one, they found their completion. 

Some time later, they found their way to Steve’s small bed. Both naked, still under the thin sheets as breaths slowed and they succumbed to sleep.

It was most likely the best night of sleep either of them had had in years, and yet, it wasn’t at all long enough. Once the sun reached the sky and light infiltrated the room, Steve knew things had changed. In more ways than one.

Bucky jumped up with a jolt, pulling the blankets off the bed as he hurriedly grabbed for his clothes as he looked at his watch.

Things had changed all right.

“I overslept! Fuck! Steve! Get up!” Bucky shouted as he quickly pulled on his dress slacks and shirt, and then grabbed for his boots. “I am so fucked.”

Steve didn’t want to open his eyes. If he did, then it would mean goodbye to everything he wanted and never wanted to let go of. It would mean that that moment, that night, would be the last one he could possibly have with Bucky.

Steve couldn’t bear to look at Bucky; he was too afraid he’d fall apart. He never was good with goodbyes, even if he knew this one was coming.

He got dressed faster than he wanted to, and now, he was left with that unsure feeling again. 

“Bucky.” Steve looked at his watch and tried not to smile. “Bucky, your departing plane left hours ago. I don’t know what to tell you.”

“I am screwed, Steve.”

* * *

**** Steve’s mind was jolted once again, with a new flash. They were older, walking down the street, a newspaper was blowing in the wind. Steve picked it up, flattening it out so he could read the headline.

**Allied forces advance. Germany pulls back. End of war close!**

Steve read the date. April 5, 1945. His eyes wandered over to Bucky, who was looking happy and relaxed. Suddenly, the thought that Bucky never went off to war hit him. He kept his Bucky. His Bucky was safe.

No Winter Soldier.

No Hydra.

No robot on abridge. 

Steve could remember the sound of the gunshot, the piercing pain, the memories. Somehow, in some form of luck, Steve was catapulted back into time. A time where he was able to profess all he wanted to Bucky, change their history. 

He’d gladly give up everything—Captain America and the Avengers—for the only friend he’d ever had. Bucky. As long as it meant he was safe and not some machine that was used at Hydra’s expense. 

Steve got the life he wanted by some weird miracle.

He couldn't bring himself to regret facing off with the Winter Soldier on that bridge, nor could he take back not raising his shield. 

He had the future he wanted now with Bucky at his side.

* * *

 

A machine was beeping, and some sort of whooshing sound met Steve’s ears. He breathed in deeply and was met with nothing but stale air. There was no woodsy scent of Bucky to meet him. 

He scrunched his eyes closed and slammed his fist into the bed.

_ Damn it! It was all a dream. Only a dream. _

He refused to open his eyes and be met with the harsh reality of his realization, but he did when he heard a door open.

“You gave us a scare there, Captain,” Tony told Steve as he walked towards the bed. Tony didn’t expect Steve to reply, so he continued to talk. “Bullet tore through your chest wall, nicked your lungs, broke about four ribs.” Tony shrugged and sat down in the chair next to Steve’s bed. “Another bullet tore through your intestine and some other stuff. You no longer have a pancreas or gallbladder, just so you know. Other than that, you’ll be good as new soon.”

Steve just hummed, still not speaking, his mind too busy with everything he’d thought he had experienced.

“The Winter Soldier still hasn’t been captured. Natasha has a few leads, though.”

“Don’t care,” Steve mumbled. 

“You should! He shot you, broke you and put you into a coma for six weeks. Medically induced or not, it's still his fault.”

“Don’t care,” Steve said again, his hand now bunching up his bedding as he tried to calm his breaths.

“Steve…” Tony tried to get his friend to see reason, but when he met Steve’s eyes, he knew it was a lost cause. 

“Natasha told me you two had a past.”

Steve nodded, not offering up anything. 

“He’s not the Bucky you once knew.”

Steve felt pain in his chest at that truth. “No...he’s not. But deep down, I know. I  _ know  _ he’s Bucky.”

Steve said nothing more, and eventually, once the nurse came in to administer more pain meds, he allowed himself to sleep again. Tony soon gave up and left.

Hours later, he awoke to darkness, machines beeping, and a woodsy smell. 

Steve tried to sit up once he opened his eyes, but pain kept him down. His eyes, though…his eyes met a figure standing off to the side. Light from the machines bounced off metal and he knew instantly he was joined by the Winter Soldier.

Things were different this time than how they were on the bridge. Recognition bloomed in Bucky's eyes as he walked closer to Steve’s bed.

“I never meant to hurt you.” That scratchy voice from years ago, a lifetime ago, met Steve’s ears, and somehow, he felt at home.

“I made a promise to you that it was me and you until the end of the line, and I broke that promise.” Bucky’s metal encased hand now gently held onto Steve’s.  “I’m sorry.”

What could Steve say? His thoughts and feelings were so jumbled. He felt as if he had been through a hurricane.

As he looked into the brown eyes of Bucky, he knew deep down that no matter how much you wanted to save someone, sometimes you couldn’t. Sometimes you had to acknowledge that the past was unchangeable. 

But maybe a future could still be sculpted into the life he dreamed.


End file.
